For their trade show booths, companies should dream big

In one of his most famous speeches, on May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy promised America, and the world, that the United States would put a man on the moon before the clock struck midnight on December 31, 1969.

He literally asked for the moon.

Nobody knew for certain it could be done, yet he still made the promise. It was then up to the engineers at NASA to figure out how to do it.

That’s the same approach companies should take when working with an exhibit company like Zig Zibit. Ask for the moon, then let us figure out if and how it can be done.

Creating New Experiences

Whenever possible, companies want their trade show displays to offer new experiences for attendees. Sometimes their expectations push the limits of design, technology, plain old physics, and, of course, budget.

When we get requests like that, it sets in motion a series of events designed to see what’s possible, and how to execute it.

The first thing that happens is a collaborative meeting involving all of our departments, including design, engineering, graphics, estimating, and construction. Then, we hash it out.

Relying on their years of experience, people from every corner of the company bring their perspective to the challenge, and we work together to find a solution.

Next comes the prototyping, a crucial phase in which we build a small-scale and/or digital version of the booth. This is an important step, because it gives us and the client a good sense of how the booth will function, what the lighting will be like, and how traffic will flow, all before construction starts.

With larger booths, we often cannot assemble the whole display in our shop before shipping it out -- there simply isn’t enough room, and often there’s not enough time. The prototyping process gives us confidence that the booth will work the way it’s supposed to.

Finally, fabrication and construction starts. That’s when all of the planning and collaborating pays off.

Don’t hold back

Our point in sharing this is simply to provide you with a glimpse into the exhibit creation process, especially when it involves what you might think are unrealistic requests.

We’re not saying we’ll be able to do it every time. Not everything is going to be possible, and sometimes we have to come back to you to make adjustments to the plan. But when clients don’t self-edit their expectations, it gives us a chance to explore what is possible.

And that sometimes results in a solution that’s never been done, and an experience show attendees will remember.